Kalmo – Demoni

I’m proud to write this review and maybe you can feel my smile. At Blessed Altar Zine we received the upcoming “Demoni” EP exclusively before anyone else on this planer and I was stoked to be among the very first human beings who listens to the new material earlier…Furthermore this review reveals the front cover of the the EP!

Of course my smile fades within minutes while listening to “Demoni”. Just because the music which KALMO brings is so dark and evil and there is no light, no hope – the end is the only joy.

Over the past two years this one-man band became very active, releasing singles and videos and now “Demoni” comes as a natural point in time where the demos of the old material and compositions are re-shaped, re-arranged and well-polished in the studio, but also the lost soul of Kalmo’s mastermind added some new ideas on top.

Inspired by the likes as monsters Celtic Frost, Triptykon, Slayer, King Diamond, Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Gallhammer, Hellhammer, KALMO’s music could be defined as doom, but it goes much beyond the well known definitions about the doom, because it is:

6. doom from the shades of the dungeons
6. morbid, rotting, leprous
6. It evokes horror and evil visions, creatures
6. It is and experiment of sounds, nightmares and darkness
6. It is abruptive and abrasive
6. It is underground demonic chant

“Demoni” includes 6 (six six) tracks, and I already mentioned some of them are already known. The opener “Piru” already got its video for the demo version, but now the track has much clearer production which makes it much more influential. It is morbid and reminds of the good old days of early Celtic Frost. “Elävä vainaa” is distorted, delusional, horrorful track, absolutely dungeon track. The demo also got video. “Lupaus” is even more experimental and darker. Almost as in a slow trance with slow shamanic drums, the song contains a distorted guitar tunes which just cuts through. The track has been from the early days of KALMO. “Valo” has been written in “a cottage in the middle of nowhere” and it represents a desperate cry for light. It is just painful experimental screamer which transforms into morbid slow dance. “Mustaa” is also known by the fans track, which got new shape in the late days of 2018. This version is included in “Demoni”. It is probably the track defining the overall style of KALMO. The only track in English – Show Me Your Face, was written for a YouTube competition and originally was more lo-fi. Now it has been re-arranged for “Demoni” and it just fits perfectly as a conclusion for the EP. Here comes my question – what more evil can we expect in a future album?

KALMO’s music is not for everybody and everyday. It is raw and inimitable. There are layers which need slowly to be peeled off in darkness, in order to get to the…more darkness. The experimental nature of KALMO’s rotting doom from the dungeons requires desperation, pain and demons evoked, around slowly fading candles. 8.5/10 Count Vlad